Repairing-last



(No Model.)

J. BURKE.

REPAIRING LAST. No. 331,765. Patented Dec. 8,1885.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Finch.

JAMES BURKE, OF SPRINGFIELD,'MASSAOHUSETTS.

REPAIRING-LAST.

ziPF-CIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,765, dated December 8, 1885.

Application filed July 13, 1885. Serial No. 171,449. No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES BURKE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cobbling or Repairing Lasts, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawlugs.

My invention relates to that class of cob bling-lasts having two foot-pieces united by a centralconnecting-piece. Heretofore the cob bling-lasts of this class have been constructed with a curved uniting or connecting piece, and no provision has been made to adapt the last to reach and bear against the shank and heel portion of the shoe without the addition of a supplementary piece, or to bear against the inner surface of hollows or irregularities in the sole of the shoe formed on the inside, either intentionally when the shoe is made for the purpose of accommodating some projecting point or other portion of the foot,.or formed by some such projecting portion continually pressing upon the sole.

The object of my invention is therefore to provide a cobbling-last by the use of which the repairing of the shank and heel may be facilitated, and by the use of which recesses, curves,or enlargements may be formed in any desired portion of the shoe-sole, and by the use of which nails or pegs, when driven through the sole at such places, may be firmly clinched close to the inner surface.

In short, my invention aims to do away with the objectionable features of the cobbling-lasts heretofore made; and to that end my invention consists in the form of the connecting or uniting portion of the device in the form whereby the last may be so used as to bear against the shank and heel of the shoe or boot upon the inside, and in the application of a removable and adjustable button or projecting piece to formor reach into hollows in the shoe-sole.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure l is a perspective view of my device complete, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the removable button.

The foot-pieces are indicated by the letters a and b, the connecting or uniting part by the letter a, and the button by the letter 6. The

foot-pieces are provided with openings d, into which the stem f of the button e fits. The holes or sockets d are made in various places on the last to enable the operative to move the but ton from one place to another, as he may desire, to reach one or another portion of the shoe-sole.

The buttons may be made of various sizes and shapes,to adapt the last to accomplish the work desired.

In the manufacture of custom-goods and in the repair of boots and shoes it frequently becomes necessary to form an indentation, recess, or hollow in the sole, to accommodate some portion of the foot which from various causes may project beyond the lines of the ordinary foot. \Vhen, therefore, it becomes necessary to form the shoe-sole to conform to the outline or surface of the sole of the foot, the button 6 is adjusted on the last in such position that the desired spot will be reached by it when the last is thrust into the shoe. The hollow may then be formed by gently hammering theleather above the button and when a shoe-sole has been properly shaped to conform to the foot of the wearer, and the shoesole requires repairs,the repairs may be made, without destroying the shape of the solo, by inserting the button in the proper place; and if it becomes necessary to drive pegs or nails through the sole at such places the button will cause the points of the same to be clinched close to and against the inner surface. it will be seen, could not be done with lasts heretofore made.

In the repair of boots and shoes it is very desirable at times to have the last bear firmly against the shank or inner surface of the heel, and heretofore a separate last or piece has been used and provided for that purpose, as with the old form of construction of this class of cobbling-last the curved connecting-piece prevented any portion of the solid last-body from reaching the heel portion of the shoe on the inside, and prevented the last bearing with the desired degree of firmness or to any considerable extent against the shank of the shoe or boot. To obviate this difficulty, I construct the last as shown in the drawings, the heel and shank portion being carried out and the heel portions of the two foot-pieces being connected by-the part c. The last is prefera- This,

bly made of cast-iron. One of the foot-pieces is made larger than the other,to adapt the last for use in various sizes of shoes.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A oobbling-last having two foot-pieces, a b,andhaving theheelandshankportionfornned to bear against the heel and shank on the inside of a shoe, the two being connected by a uniting part, 0, substantially as shown.

2. A eobblinglast formed of two foot-pieces united at the heeLas shown, and having sternreoeiving openings (1, in combination with a button, 6, provided with a stein,f, substantially as shown.

3. A cobbling-last formed of a single casting having two foot-pieces of a different size united at the heel portions by a straight connecting part, c, and having the heel and shank portions thereof raised or formed to bear against the shank and heel of a boot or shoe on the inside, and with one or more removable adjustable buttons, substantially as set forth.

JAMES BURKE.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH M. LE FEBORE, ALLEN WVEBsTER. 

